Hewlett-Packard is planning an independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding the forced resignation of CEO Mark Hurd last year and the compensation package he received. A shareholder lawsuit claims HP's directors wasted company money by awarding Hurd as much as $53 million in severance.

German automaker Daimler has won its appeal of a court ruling that would have required the German automaker to pay $324 million to former Daimler-Benz shareholders who claimed they weren't adequately compensated in the $36 billion merger that created DaimlerChrysler.

Toyota faces several pending class actions that allege it publicly dismissed the seriousness of several design flaws while knowing that the problems might have caused a dramatic sell-off of Toyota shares.